Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

This ‘Hot Article’ from our upcoming Modelling of Materials themed issue by Matthew Glaser and co-workers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California, Davies has recently been published online.

Many soft-matter and biophysical systems are composed of monomers that reversibly assemble into rod-like aggregates. The aggregates can then order into liquid-crystal phases if the density is high enough, and liquid-crystal ordering promotes increased growth of aggregates.  In this paper the team from the USA study coupled linear aggregation and liquid crystal ordering with a new coarse-grained sticky cylinder model.

Interested in knowing more?  Read for free until December 9th.Linear aggregation and liquid-crystalline order: comparison of Monte Carlo simulation and analytic theory Tatiana Kuriabova, M. D. Betterton and Matthew A. Glaser J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02355H, Paper

A noble metal catalyzed chemical growth process has been developed by a team from China and is described in this ‘Hot Article’.

Noble metals, such as Pt based bimetallic nanoparticles with a hollow structure exhibit a range of interesting characteristics such as low density, reduced cost, high specific surface, and enhanced permeability without much sacrifice of mechanical/thermal stability in comparison with their solid counterparts. Rongming Wang, Ning Wang, Xia Cao and co-workers successfully synthesised nearly monodispersed bimetallic NiPt hollow spheres with an ultrathin shell (2–3 nm). Size and composition of the NiPt nanospheres was conveniently tuned by introducing suitable amounts of precursory molecules.  

The bimetallic NiPt hollow spheres demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability which makes them promising candidates for catalysts and sensing materials.Interested in knowing more?  Read for free until December 9th. Platinum catalyzed growth of NiPt hollow spheres with an ultrathin shell Qian Sun, Zheng Ren, Rongming Wang, Ning Wang and Xia Cao J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02563A, Paper

On the cover of Journal of Materials Chemistry issue 45 the image of a fingerprint washed from a steel surface is revealed (in false colour) thanks to polymerisation of S₂N₂ on the print’s corrosion signature. 

The image is taken from the paper Polymerisation of S₂N₂ to (SN)_x as a tool for the rapid imaging of fingerprints removed from metal surfaces by Stephen M. Bleay, Paul F. Kelly and Roberto S. P. King.  This article was featured in the RSC’s Highlights in Chemical Technology supplement: Polymerisation reveals hidden fingerprints.

In this Highlight, Hasma Jaganathan and Albena Ivanisevic from Purdue University present a unique nanostructure design using DNA that can serve as potential magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents.  By attaching gold and iron oxide nanoparticles on linear strands of DNA, nanoparticle chains are easily formed by self-assembly and through DNA-based enzymes. Furthermore, gold–iron oxide nanoparticle chains exhibit fast proton relaxation times that improve MRI signals and do not induce in vitro toxicity.

Interested in knowing more?  Read for free until December 7th. Gold–iron oxide nanoparticle chains scaffolded on DNA as potential magnetic resonance imaging agents Hamsa Jaganathan and Albena Ivanisevic J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02754E, Highlight

Metal/oxide nanosystems with different spatial organizations have attracted a remarkable interest for their unique features and multi-functional properties, which can be finely tuned by controlling the interplay between their structure, morphology and composition.  In this Highlight, Davide Barreca and co-workers at Padova University describe how the interfacial interactions between metal nanoparticles and oxides significantly impact the system properties and play a key role for future advancements in their science and technology.

Interested in knowing more? Read for free until December 7th. Metal/oxide interfaces in inorganic nanosystems: what’s going on and what’s next?  Davide Barreca, Alberto Gasparotto and Eugenio Tondello J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02448A, Highlight

Enhancing photocatalytic activity of titania materials by using porous structures and the addition of gold nanoparticles
Xingdong Wang and Rachel A. Caruso
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02620D, Highlight

 The strategy to enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ materials by introducing both porous structure to improve the mass transportation and gold nanoparticles to enhance the charge separation is reviewed in this highlight article from Xingdon Wang and Rachel Caruso from Australia.

Interested in knowing more?  Read the full article for free until the 3^rd December!

Growth and reductive transformation of a gold shell around pyramidal cadmium selenide nanocrystals
Michaela Meyns, Neus G. Bastus, Yuxue Cai, Andreas Kornowski, Beatriz H. Juárez, Horst Weller and Christian Klinke
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM03004J, Communication

Cadmium selenide nanocrystals were coated with a gold shell which could be transformed to small clusters by additional reducing agents reports Christian Klinke and co-workers from Germany and Spain in this Communication.  By varying the conditions of gold deposition they were able to tune the gold domain size and gain important information on the role of surface chemistry in heteronanoparticle synthesis and seed reactivity, both of which are crucial points regarding the chemical design of new materials for photocatalysis and optoelectronic applications.

Interested in knowing more?  Read the full article for free until the 3^rd December!

Size-dependent light-scattering effects of nanoporous TiO2 spheres in dye-sensitized solar cells
In Gyoung Yu, Yong Joo Kim, Hark Jin Kim, Chongmu Lee and Wan In Lee
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02606A, Paper

In this paper a team from Inha University in South Korea report the successful application of submicron-sized monodispersed TiO₂ spheres (SPs) with high porosity as the light scattering layer of dye-sensitized solar cells.  This resulted in an increase of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency from 6.92 to 9.04% when using the SP which gave the highest light scattering efficiency.

Interested in knowing more?  Read the full article for free ntil the 3^rd December!

Carbon nanotubes from short hydrocarbon templates. Energy analysis of the Diels–Alder cycloaddition/rearomatization growth strategy
Eric H. Fort and Lawrence T. Scott
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02517H, Paper

In this paper by Eric Fort and Lawrence Scott, aromatic hydrocarbon belts and hemispherical end-caps of varying length and diameter are evaluated computationally as possible templates from which carbon nanotubes might be grown by the Diels-Alder cycloaddition/rearomatization strategy.  The team from Boston College in the USA found that the Diels–Alder reactivity of nanotube template rims was relatively unaffected by the presence or absence of a cap on the other end.

Interested in knowing more? Read for free until November 30^th!

Ultra-narrow WS₂ nanoribbons encapsulated in carbon nanotubes
Zhiyong Wang, Keke Zhao, Hong Li, Zheng Liu, Zujin Shi, Jing Lu, Kazu Suenaga, Soon-Kil Joung, Toshiya Okazaki, Zhaoxia Jin, Zhennan Gu, Zhengxiang Gao and Sumio Iijima
J. Mater. Chem., 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02821E, Paper

A team from China and Japan report the synthesis via chemical reaction in the interior space of carbon nanotubes of zigzag-edged WS₂ nanoribbons with widths down to 1–3 nm and layer numbers of one to three. Layered WS₂ nanostructures are of both fundamental and technological interest. The widths of currently synthesized WS₂ ribbons are in the microscale but by using single-walled carbon nanotubes and double-walled carbon nanotubes as templates this team demonstrate that ribbons in the nanoscale are possible. 

Interested in knowing more? Read for free until November 30^th!

Fabrication of covalently crosslinked and amine-reactive microcapsules by reactive layer-by-layer assembly of azlactone-containing polymer multilayers on sacrificial microparticle templates
Eric M. Saurer, Ryan M. Flessner, Maren E. Buck and David M. Lynn
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C0JM02633F, Paper

David Lynn and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin demonstrate an approach to the fabrication of covalently crosslinked and amine-reactive microcapsules by the ‘reactive’ layer-by-layer fabrication of azlactone-functionalized polymer multilayers on the surfaces of sacrificial microparticle templates.  These microcapsules have potential use in a wide range of fields, including catalysis, drug and gene delivery, imaging, and biomedical research.

Interested in knowing more? Read for free until November 30^th!